In high school at first glance of the family photos I shared with others

In high school at first glance of the family photos I shared with others, you could not see the dysfunctional dynamics of my family. In a photo, you could see the typical, ideal American family: a father, one mother, one daughter, and a son. In high school, I had the belief that I would be looked down upon for my family’s nontraditional dynamic. I always tried to hide that my great-grandmother was the one who was cooking dinner each night for my younger brother and I while my mom worked long hours and my father worked mid-nights. However, the idea that this was unusual was socially constructed in my mind. When comparing my family to popular television shows such as the Simpson’s, my family showed great contrast; I felt others would ridicule me if my family were not to fit into that perfect mold presented by the media. This led me to believe that my family was wrong because it did not follow the set-up which is popular in the media even today.
During high school, my parent’s careers, or lack thereof, were the center point of my life. My father had worked in the printing business for many years; however it is a dying profession and he has experienced numerous layoffs. This layoff was part of something greater than I knew at the time. The recession of my father’s printing profession was a part of the economic restructuring taking place at the time. This economy is still changing at a macro level; where more and more jobs are being taken over by technology.